KAJANG, May 3 — The search-and-rescue operation for a nine-year-old girl who is feared to have drowned after falling into a drain in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, entered its third day today, with the search being extended to Sungai Langat.
The Fire and Rescue Department's operations commander Izman Adnan said the radius covered a distance of 5km from the location of the incident around Pangsapuri Sri Hijau to the end of Sungai Long, which connects to Sungai Langat.
Today's search was also carried out from Sungai Langat as far as 24km towards the Irrigation and Drainage Department's water retention pond in Putrajaya, making the total search radius 29km.
"The total rescue team today comprise 60 people from the fire brigade, the Civil Defence Force and the police, while the assets include three boats and two canoes, with a K9 unit (detection dog).
"We hope to complete the search today, aided by the good weather at the moment," he told the media at the scene of the incident.
Izman added that the search strategy also involved the K9 Unit at several strategic locations along the deep river, and that the Water Rescue Team dived in if there were any positive leads.
Regarding the weather, the sunny conditions, with calm river currents and water shallow enough for knee-level wading, made it much easier for members to move along the banks and waterways.
The nine-year-old girl was reported missing after falling into a drain while trying to retrieve a ball, before being swept away by the strong current following heavy rain in the incident on Friday (May 1)
The fire brigade received the emergency call for the incident at 7.08pm.
